The present invention generally relates to containers for storing and displaying foods and other products that bear liquids and that are likely to exude liquids while stored and displayed. More particularly, the present invention relates to an edge stackable absorbent container for displaying products that exude liquids.
Excess moisture within food storage containers can cause premature spoilage of the food products that are stored in the containers because the moisture provides a favorable environment for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms. Excess moisture in a food storage container also can lead to leakage of fluids from the storage container that can cause contamination of other foods and items about the container.
Attempts at controlling excess moisture in food storage containers, such as trays (both rigid and flexible) and bags, have met with some success. The prior art devices include (1) pre-formed trays configured for the insertion of absorbent pads or absorbent sheets with the food products resting on the absorbent pads and sheets; (2) trays with built-in reservoirs arranged to trap excess moisture exuded from the products, with some of the trays including a porous cover over the reservoirs that allows fluids to drain from the product to the cover into the reservoir, but which partially restricts the fluids from re-emerging past the cover following shaking or movement of the trays; and (3) trays or packs made from multiple layers of material with one layer being liquid impervious and a second layer being liquid pervious to allow foods to enter, and an absorbent media sandwiched between the two layers to absorb and retain the entering fluids.
There is a desire in supermarkets and other places to display foods in disposable trays having a transparent cover with the trays arranged in a shingle stack. A shingle stack refers to several trays that are edge stacked on shelves so that the trays with a product are tilted forward for better viewing by the customer. This is particularly attractive for foods like chicken parts. Unfortunately, many products that exude liquids, such as chicken, will exude so much liquid that when the tray is tilted, the liquid naturally flows toward the lower-most side wall of the tray, creating an undesirable liquid pool. This might occur even with trays that have absorbent material in the bottom of the tray, because there might be liquid on the upper side of the food product that has not flowed to the bottom of the tray, or the food product has been frozen or partially frozen and ice has formed on the upper surface of the food product and does not melt and flow off the food product until the tray and food product have been tilted. This tends to result in the liquid flowing to the lower edge of the tray instead of to the bottom of the tray, making an undesirable pool of liquid and blood that is visible in the package. Also, if more liquid has accumulated in the bottom of the tray than can be absorbed by the absorbent material, there can be run-off of the excess liquid from the bottom of the tray into the lower edge of a tilted tray. Simply putting more absorbent material in the bottom of the tray does not always solve this problem as any unabsorbed liquid still tends to flow toward the bottom side wall when the tray is tilted.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an edge stackable absorbent container for displaying products that exude liquid that avoids the above noted shortcomings of the prior art.